Original Ideas

As a UNESCO City of Music, and home to the Institute of Popular Music, Liverpool is a city with music at its heart. Exploring cultural phenomena from The Beatles to Taylor Swift, in this episode we look at the research taking place around popular music.

What can we learn from the many different perspectives of popular music? How has it changed society in the past, and how will the music industry evolve in the future?

In this Original Ideas Podcast episode Gavin Freeborn is joined by Dr Holly Tessler and Dr Mike Jones, as well as Dr Amy Skjerseth and Dr Samuel Murray, from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Music and Institute of Popular Music. More information available at liverpool.ac.uk/research/original-ideas/

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that all children should have equal rights, no matter who they are, where they live, what gender they are, or whether they are wealthy or in poverty.

No child should be treated unfairly for any reason, and protecting children is something that every society should work towards - from safeguarding the use of their data and images, through to enabling access to law and justice, and enforcing rights around citizenship.
  
So  how is academic research facilitating and enforcing children’s legal rights? What academic work is taking place to safeguard children's rights right now?

In this Original Ideas Podcast episode Gavin Freeborn is joined by Professor Helen Stalford, a leading expert on European Children’s Rights, and PhD student Kindah Ali who has conducted research on the use of children’s images by the media during wars. More information available at liverpool.ac.uk/research/original-ideas/

Joining other Feminist Cities around the world including Barcelona and Vienna, Glasgow became the UK’s first self-proclaimed Feminist City in 2022. This inspired University of Liverpool staff to create the Liverpool Feminist City Network, connecting multiple areas of research.

What is a Feminist City? How is academic research helping inform and create cities that are more inclusive for everyone?

In this Original Ideas Podcast episode Gavin Freeborn is joined by leaders of the Liverpool Feminist City Network members Professor Catherine Durose and Dr Catherine Queen, plus early career researchers Dr Shreyashi Dasgupta and Dr Emma Spruce. More information available at https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/research/original-ideas/

Regarded as one of the most transformational technologies we’ve ever seen, AI is developing at an unprecedented rate. We’ve seen world leaders hold summits to explore the many benefits that AI can bring to society – but also warn of the need to use it responsibly.

So what impact is AI making in academic circles? How is AI being used now to transform research across Chemistry and Computer Science, and what are the hopes for the future?

In this Original Ideas Podcast episode Gavin Freeborn is joined by Professors Katie Atkinson and Andy Cooper, and early career researchers Dr Jack Mumford and Dr Gabriella Pizzuto. More information available at liverpool.ac.uk/research/original-ideas/

Over 3 billion people use smoky polluting stoves and fuels inside homes for cooking and heating. In the UK, a third of childhood asthma cases are related to poor air quality.

Air pollution is one of the biggest threats we have to global health – how is research at the University of Liverpool driving change for lower to middle income countries? In the city of Liverpool, what research is taking place around the measurement of air quality, that could benefit the wider world?

In this Original Ideas Podcast episode Gavin Freeborn meets Professor Daniel Pope and PhD student Chloe Gray. More information available at liverpool.ac.uk/research/original-ideas/